March 12, 1710:
Thomas Arne is born in London, United Kingdom of Great Britain, the son of Thomas Arne, and upholsterer, and Anne Arne. He will append the middle name Augustine in his youth.
December 8, 1752:
The Drummer, or The Haunted House, a play by Thomas Augustine Arne (42) to words of Addison, is performed for the first time, at Covent Garden, London.
April 11, 1753:
The Lord Chamberlain, Charles, Duke of Grafton, informs theatre owners that no theatrical productions may take place during Lent, whether sacred or secular. Thomas Arne (43) has been trying to pass off an unstaged revival of his Alfred as an oratorio.
April 15, 1753:
Mr. Justice Le Diard, along with a constable, arrives at a rehearsal of Thomas Arne’s (43) Alfred in Hart Street opposite Covent Garden. He requires the proceedings to end because the advertised performance on 21 April is in violation of the Lord Chamberlain’s order of 11 April.
May 29, 1754:
Thomas Augustine Arne’s (44) patriotic opera Eliza, to words of Rolt, is performed for the first time, in the Little Theatre, Haymarket, London.
May 9, 1755:
Britannia, a masque by Thomas Augustine Arne (45) to words of Mallett, is performed for the first time, at Drury Lane Theatre, London.
September 4, 1755:
Six cantatas by Thomas Arne (45) are published in a collection by John Walsh.
March 8, 1756:
Injured Honour, or The Earl of Westmoreland, a play with music by Thomas Augustine Arne (45) to words of Brooke, is performed for the first time, in Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin.
March 20, 1756:
The Pincushion, a farce by Thomas Augustine Arne (46) to words attributed to Gay, is performed for the first time, in Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin.
April 2, 1756:
The Painter’s Breakfast, a play with music by Thomas Augustine Arne (46), is performed for the first time, in Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin.
June 2, 1756:
Sometime after this date, Thomas Arne (46), who has been in Dublin since last October, leaves the city, and his wife, Cecilia.
December 27, 1756:
Mercury Harlequin, a pantomime by Thomas Augustine Arne (46) to words of Woodward, is performed for the first time, in Drury Lane Theatre, London.
April 22, 1757:
The Fair Penitent, a play by Rowe with music by Thomas Augustine Arne (46), is performed for the first time, at Covent Garden, London.
December 2, 1757:
Isabella, or the Fatal Marriage, a play by Garrick, after Southerne, with music by Thomas Augustine Arne (47), is performed for the first time, at the Drury Lane Theatre, London.
February 1, 1758:
The Prophetess, or The History of Dioclesian, a musical play by Thomas Augustine Arne (47) to words of Betterton, is performed for the first time, at Covent Garden, London.
November 23, 1758:
Thomas Augustine Arne’s (48) masque The Sultan, or Solyman and Zaide is performed for the first time, at Covent Garden, London.
February 1, 1759:
The Ambitious Stepmother, a play by Rowe with music by Thomas Augustine Arne (48), is performed for the first time, at the Drury Lane Theatre, London.
February 15, 1759:
Cymbeline, a play by Hawkins after Shakespeare, with music by Thomas Augustine Arne (48), is performed for the first time, in Covent Garden, London.
July 6, 1759:
Oxford University confers a Doctor of Music degree on Thomas Augustine Arne (49).
October 10, 1759:
The Beggar’s Opera, a ballad opera by Gay with some additions and revisions by Thomas Augustine Arne (49), is performed for the first time, in Covent Garden, London.
January 24, 1760:
Two plays by Arthur Murphy, with music by Thomas Arne (49), are performed for the first time, at the Drury Lane Theatre, London: The Desert Island, and The Way to Keep Him .
February 14, 1760:
The Jovial Crew or the Merry Beggars, a comic opera by Thomas Augustine Arne (49) to words of Roome, Concanen and Yonge after Brome, is performed for the first time, in Covent Garden, London.
November 28, 1760:
Thomas Augustine Arne’s comic opera (50) Thomas and Sally, or The Sailor’s Return to words of Bickerstaffe is performed for the first time, in Covent Garden, London. It is immediately successful.
February 27, 1761:
Judith, an oratorio by Thomas Augustine Arne (50) to words of Bickerstaffe, is performed for the first time, at the Drury Lane Theatre, London. It is a great success with critics and public.
April 7, 1761:
Vanbrugh and Cibber’s play The Provok’d Husband, or a Journey to London with music by Thomas Augustine Arne (51), is performed for the first time, at Covent Garden, London.
February 2, 1762:
Artaxerxes, a serious opera by Thomas Augustine Arne (51) to his own words, after Metastasio, is performed for the first time, at Covent Garden, London.
February 26, 1762:
Thomas Arne (51) takes over the operation of the Lenten oratorios in the Drury Lane Theatre, London. His first offering is his own Beauty and Virtue, a serenata to his own words after Metastasio.
March 5, 1762:
The Sacrifice, or The Death of Abel, an oratorio by Thomas Augustine Arne (51) to his own words, is performed for the first time, in Drury Lane Theatre, London. The work is actually a revival of Arne’s The Death of Abel of 1744.
December 8, 1762:
Thomas Augustine Arne’s (52) pasticcio comic opera Love in a Village to words of Bickerstaff after Johnson, is performed for the first time, in Covent Garden, London. Included is music by Carl Friedrich Abel (38), Baldassare Galuppi (56), and Felice Giardini. It is very successful.
February 24, 1763:
At a performance of Thomas Arne’s (52) Artaxerxes at Covent Garden, working class thugs begin a riot, breaking all the benches, boxes, and chandeliers. They are angry that the usual admittance to the fourth act at half-price has been abandoned. The theatre will be closed until 2 March.
January 19, 1764:
The Arcadian Nuptials, a masque by Thomas Augustine Arne (53), is performed for the first time, at Covent Garden, London to celebrate the marriage of the Prince of Brunswick to Princess Augusta.
December 12, 1764:
The Guardian Out-witted, a comic opera by Thomas Augustine Arne (54) to his own words, is performed for the first time, at Covent Garden, London. To the dismay of the optimistic composer, it will fail, mostly because of the length.
April 27, 1765:
L’olimpiade, an opera seria by Thomas Augustine Arne (55) to words of Bottarelli after Metastasio, is performed for the first time, in King’s Theatre, London. It sees two performances.
December 6, 1765:
The Summer’s Tale, a pasticcio musical comedy with music by Thomas Augustine Arne (55) to words of Cumberland, and an overture by Carl Friedrich Abel (41), is performed for the first time, in Covent Garden, London.
January 30, 1766:
Mrs. Susanna Maria Cibber, one of the great actresses of the London stage and sister of Thomas Arne (55), dies at her home in Scotland Yard at the age of 52. Her remains will be buried in Westminster Abbey.
April 25, 1766:
Miss in Her Teens, a farce by David Garrick after Dancourt, with a song by Thomas Arne (56), is performed for the first time, in Drury Lane Theatre, London.
April 14, 1767:
Eight new overtures (symphonies) by Thomas Arne (57) are performed for the first time, at the composer’s home in London. Four of them are newly published.
May 16, 1767:
At a benefit concert at Covent Garden, Miss Brickler sings a song from Thomas Arne’s (57) Judith, accompanied by Mr. Dibdin on the Piano Forte. It is the first known public performance to use piano in Britain.
February 25, 1768:
Lionel and Clarissa, a pasticcio comic opera with some music by Thomas Augustine Arne (57) and words by Bickerstaff, is performed for the first time, in Covent Garden, London.
September 7, 1769:
An Ode upon Dedicating a Building to Shakespeare by Thomas Augustine Arne (59), to words of Garrick, is performed for the first time, at Stratford-upon-Avon as part of the Shakespeare bicentennial celebrations.
June 28, 1770:
Libera me, for the funeral of his friend Francis Pemberton by Thomas Augustine Arne (60), for soprano, tenor, bass, mixed chorus and organ, is performed for the first time, in London.
November 22, 1770:
At his home in London, Thomas Arne (60) receives a letter from an attorney representing his estranged wife. It points out that Arne’s allowance of £40 per year for his wife is pitifully small, and presently is in arrears. A law suit is threatened.
December 13, 1770:
King Arthur, or The British Worthy, a masque revival of Henry Purcell’s (†75) semi-opera with ten new songs by Thomas Augustine Arne (60) to words of Garrick after Dryden, is performed for the first time, in Drury Lane Theatre, London.
November 12, 1771:
The Fairy Prince, a masque by Thomas Augustine Arne (61) to words of Colman after Jonson, is performed for the first time, in Covent Garden, London.
March 16, 1772:
Squire Badger, a burletta by Thomas Augustine Arne (62) to his own words after Fielding, is performed for the first time, in the Little Theatre, Haymarket.
June 10, 1772:
Thomas Augustine Arne’s (62) The Cooper, a musical entertainment to his own words after Audinot and Quétant, is performed for the first time, in the Haymarket Theatre, London. It is moderately successful.
November 21, 1772:
Elfrida, a dramatic poem by Thomas Augustine Arne (62) to words of Coleman after Mason, is performed for the first time, in Covent Garden, London. Its success will exceed that of Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer.
December 2, 1772:
Thomas Augustine Arne’s (62) comic opera The Rose, perhaps to his own words, is performed for the first time, in the Drury Lane Theatre, London.
December 26, 1772:
The Pigmy Revels, or Harlequin Foundling, a pantomime by Thomas Augustine Arne (62) to words of Messink, is performed for the first time, in the Drury Lane Theatre, London.
February 6, 1773:
The Golden Pippin, a pasticcio comic opera with five songs by Thomas Augustine Arne (62) to words of O’Hara, is performed for the first time, in Covent Garden, London.
February 23, 1773:
Alzuma, a play by Murphy after Dryden and Voltaire, with music by Thomas Augustine Arne (62), is performed for the first time, at Covent Garden, London.
February 26, 1773:
At a performance of the oratorio Judith by Thomas Augustine Arne (62) at Covent Garden, women are used in a London choir for the first time.
December 16, 1773:
Achilles in Petticoats, a burlesque by Thomas Augustine Arne (63) to words of Colman after Gay, is performed for the first time, at Covent Garden, London.
April 13, 1774:
A second setting of the musical drama Henry and Emma by Thomas Augustine Arne (64) to words of Bate Dudley after Prior, is performed for the first time, at Covent Garden, London.
October 28, 1775:
May-Day, or The Little Gipsy, a musical farce by Thomas Augustine Arne (65) to words of Garrick is performed for the first time, in Drury Lane Theatre, London.
February 22, 1776:
Phoebe at Court, an operetta by Thomas Augustine Arne (65) to his own words after Lloyd, is performed for the first time, in the Little Theatre, Haymarket.
December 6, 1776:
Thomas Augustine Arne’s (66) dramatic poem Caractacus to words of Mason is performed for the first time, at Covent Garden, London.
December 11, 1776:
Thomas Arne’s (66) dramatic poem Caractacus receives a special performance “by Command of Their Majesties.”
March 5, 1778:
20:00 Thomas Augustine Arne dies in his house in Bow Street, Covent Garden, London, United Kingdom, of a “spasmodic complaint”, 67 years, eleven months, and 21 days after his baptism. He remained a Roman Catholic to the end.
March 15, 1778:
The mortal remains of Thomas Augustine Arne are laid to rest in a Roman Catholic ceremony in the churchyard of St. Paul’s, Covent Garden.
September 20, 1808:
The Covent Garden Theatre, London burns down. The fire kills 22 people, destroys the props, scenery, costumes, the organ, as well as manuscripts of works by George Frideric Handel (†49) and Thomas Augustine Arne (†30).
March 12, 1910:
A memorial tablet to Thomas Augustine Arne (†132) is unveiled in St. Paul’s, Covent Garden on the 200th anniversary of his birth. On it are inscribed the opening measures of “Rule, Britannia.”